Goddess of Fate Stops for Dinner
by serendipity do da
Summary: Fate has a sense of humor...Unfortunately, not everyone finds her to be funny. RR please. ((chapter 3 added. All chapters updated. I'm alive. What more can one ask for?))
1. First Chapter

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A shallow breeze blew through the meadow, causing the tall blades of grass to bow under its might. Meanwhile, a small herd of deer gathered around a nearby pond to rest their hooves and catch a quick drink before moving on once more. One of them looked up suddenly, springing its ears erect atop of its head like radar's, as if something around it was amiss, but when all seemed well, it lowered its head back to the pond and continued to lap the crystal blue water. Another deer behind the latter crept up to the pond slowly, trying not to seem too anxious. It stood motionless behind the drinking deer, until the moment was right. Suddenly, the cautious deer transformed into a white-haired boy wearing a funny hat, and holding quite an impressive, yet bizarre weapon. Before the unsuspecting deer could turn to run, the boy pulled back his weapon, ready to strike. 

"Caught one!" yelled Rue, proudly carrying a deer carcass over his shoulders into the cottage where Claire was busying herself at the stove, and much to Rue's surprise, the usually soft spoken young woman quickly turned to the beaming boy with a serious look. "Rue! You should know better than to bring it inside!" Claire's tone was as sharp as the knife she used to dice her vegetables.

"Oh, right, sorry..." Rue smiled apologetically with an "Oh, what was I thinking?!" look on his face. "I guess I sort of forgot..." 

Claire shook her head understandingly. It had been three years, after all. "It's all right, Rue. Just take it outside. And I just hope you haven't forgotten what parts of it I'm going to need." 

"Ha, are you kidding me? I'm so hungry I could eat the whole thing right now!" said Rue, heading out the door as he boasted about his apparent ability to eat large amounts of raw meat. Yet despite what he just said, he really was anticipating Claire making his favorite stew for him again. Just like how she always made before....

Rue shook his head of the memory. It's already been three months since he was reunited with the girl to whom he's spent three years dedicating his life to, and everything still felt a little unreal. There was this new or perhaps nostalgic feeling inside of him, much like when a arduous chore is completed -- something seemed to be not well with the world, or maybe just not with his. Everything felt so different. The feeling transformed itself into a voice that clawed at the back of his mind asking "...what now?". But he ignored it. There was nothing else to do now. There was nothing else that SHOULD be done now. Things were just different. It was time to relax.

__

'Relax...' 

The word danced around Rue's mind. Just like it did on that long boat ride from Carona back home...with Claire. During the three years without her, he had nearly forgotten how to relax. He was separated from the feeling by the cold, stone wall of revenge and despair. Rue will never forget that boat ride back home -- especially the way he couldn't stop staring at Claire (that is, when he wasn't constantly asking the captain questions such as "Are we there yet?" and "How much longer...?"). He'll never be able to forget the way the wind playfully tossed Claire's flowing brown hair as she wistfully gazed out across the sea, as if she'd forgotten how blue it actually was. Though on the boat, he could have been the poster-boy for the word "uptight", Rue was beginning to become more accustomed to that feeling of serenity that Claire was engulfed with on the trip, and boy, did it feel good. The songbirds' melodies were happier, the sun shone brighter, heck, even the air smelled better.... Though that was probably the fresh mountain air doing him good. Oh well.

With a renewed sense of exhilaration, Rue carried the slain deer (which he nearly forgot about) off to the nearby cliffs that had a glorious view of the hillside. Resting the deer on a patch of grass, he looked over the cliff in awe, and released a sigh which was all he could muster up to explain his present feelings. It was so good to be home. He couldn't remember when was the last time he felt so happy. For the past three years all he could do was think of Claire...finding the [relic] to get her back...and getting revenge for her murder. To him, the world was just empty without her...

Rue grabbed his arc edge and turned back to his kill, readying himself to butcher it. Though a sudden, loud explosion stopped him dead in his tracks before he could make a single chop. Immediately, Rue looked up and turned to the cottage in immeasurable concern, making sure that Claire wasn't in any danger. Just as he saw that the cottage was still in one piece, he heard yet another explosion, but then noticed that it was coming from below the cliff. In a state of both curiosity and worry, Rue decided to find out what all the ruckus was about. He left the deer and jumped over the cliff, hopping from ledge to ledge, making his way to the base with the reflexes of a fox. Or to be more precise, a rather heavy fox, given that Rue's foot eventually landed on an unstable mass of rock, which immediately crumbled under his un-fox like weight. 

"Aaaah..!" 

Rue desperately tried to re-maneuver himself to land on his feet. 

At the sudden noise coming from the cliff, a confused and injured Mint impulsively shot a bolt of magic at whatever it might have been that made it, without so much as a second thought. 

That very moment, Rue caught glimpse of an inexplicable bolt of magic heading straight for him. Without worrying where it came from, and having only a split second to react, Rue pulled his arc edge from behind his back and placed it in front of him to block the blast, but in doing so, he completely forgot about his first task; landing on his feet. 

"Augh..." Rue moaned, rubbing his backside and slowly raising himself to his feet. _'What the heck was that..?'_ He opened one eye to survey his surroundings and find his attacker, but all he found was a girl with huge, red ponytails staring wide-eyed at him. Upon recognizing the figure, Rue returned the blank stare. 

".... Long time," he said, awkwardly. 

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"Ow!....OW!! Careful! What the hell are you trying to do -- kill me??" 

"Which is completely different from what you were trying to do to me at the cliffs, huh, Mint?" Rue said to the immobilized girl whom he was carrying on his back. She claimed to have injured her leg somehow and couldn't possibly walk for herself. 

"Hey, that was different! I was only trying to protect myself -- I had absolutely no idea it was you. So basically, it was YOUR fault that you almost got yourself killed. Try to be more careful next time, will ya?"

Rue shook his head and tried to change the subject to a more important matter. "So.. you fell down the cliff and.." 

"I did not_ fall_," said Mint matter-of-factly, as if falling was the most detestable thing in existence. "I was fighting this huge, ENORMOUS monster when I suddenly lost my balance. Truly a gallant battle unmatched by any other; there I was..." 

Rue rolled his eyes as Mint continued on about her "gallant battle". Having lived in the area for most of his relatively short life, Rue knew quite well that the cliffs were only inhabited by pollywogs and perhaps a few wolves. But he didn't say a word, knowing that doing so would probably mean certain death. However, Rue couldn't help but wonder what Mint could have been doing here, of all places. He blinked thoughtfully, trying to come up with solutions. 

"Hey, are you listening to me??!" yelled Mint, leaning her head closer to Rue's ear so he could experience the full potential of her bellowing. "Jeez, how could you expect to understand why I'm here playing piggy-back rides with you, when I would LOVE to do pretty much anything else, if you're not even paying attention?? I mean honestly, don't people have any manners nowadays?" 

Rue did his best to turn off his hearing, realizing that he'd have to put up with Mint's "royal treatment" all the way back to the cottage. He also started to regret having that ironic reflection earlier on how good it was to be able to relax again. 

"Darn, I was just leaving myself open for a plot twist..." he mumbled, almost inaudibly. 

"What was that?" 

"N-nothing."

The door to the cottage flew open and hit the adjacent wall with a loud slam. Rue didn't really mean to open it so rudely, but then again, he did still have a Mint on his back. 

Claire however, oddly wasn't at all surprised by the sudden break in the tranquility of the cabin by the slightest, and greeted Rue with one of her usual, heart-melting smiles. 

"Welcome back Rue. I'm about ready to-- ...oh.." 

Rue rested Mint on the futon without saying a word. Mint, on the other hand, gave out a sigh as if she was doing all the work, and began to critically look around her new surroundings, seemingly only finding aspects to which she'd give an enthusiastic thumbs down. 

"Um, Rue.." Claire started, staring at their new guest, "I believe something's happened to your deer.." 

Rue shot back after hearing Claire. "The deer! Oh no, I forgot all about it!" he quickly dashed out of the cottage without explanation. But just when he noticed his actions, he ran back in to clear things up. "Claire..this is, um, Mint, an old fr--..partner of mine. She's injured herself, so I thought she should stay here...until she's better, that is." 

"That is.." he added, looking at Claire with the face of a young boy who has just come home to his mother with a bird that has broken its wing, "..if that's okay.." 

Claire laughed inwardly at the display. "I understand, Rue. Now you should probably go retrieve the deer that you left out there. It's getting dark.." And without a second thought, Rue turned and ran. Claire herself turned back to her pot of herbs, spices and vegetables which seemed to currently have the world revolving around it for her, and seemed to overlook the redheaded stranger that stared vacantly at her in silence. Alas, it was as if Claire had somehow forgotten about the beautiful and undeniably important princess behind her... though Mint couldn't quite figure out how that could be possible.

Mint began to twiddle her thumbs awkwardly, to the rhythm of Claire's clacking wooden spoon against the metal pot. 

"Um.......okay...." 

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"Augh, I knew it! I knew I should have hidden it! I'm so sorry Claire, this is all my fault.." 

Rue lowered his head in shame while confronting Claire with the bad news. When he returned to the cliffs, the deer was gone, most probably mistaken for the remnants of an All You Can Eat buffet table by some other predator. 

"Oh dear.." said Claire, wearing the first dismayed expression that Rue's seen on her face in quite some time. "That is a problem...And I know how much you've been looking forward to my stew.." 

Rue nodded enthusiastically, proving her right. "Well.." she said thoughtfully, glancing back at the steaming pot on the stove, "I guess we can still have stew.. only it will have to be a vegetable stew..." she gave an apologetic smile. 

Rue immediately smiled back at her. It would tear him up inside if Claire were to feel responsible for his carelessness. "No, Claire it's all right. It was my fault to begin with, don't feel guilty..."

"Besides," he continued, "I know I'll enjoy it. Anything you make is always delicious.." 

"Why... thank you, Rue.." replied Claire, not really knowing what to say after the compliment.

"Vegetable stew??!" piped up Mint from the futon, as if you didn't see that coming. Her wounded leg now propped up on all 3 pillows from the futon. "There had better not be any pumpkins in it! Uch! I HATE pumpkins!!" 

Both Rue and Claire turned and stared at the young princess, as if they never knew she was there. Mint shifted uneasily.

"...I hate pumpkins..," Mint repeated, a little less forward this time. 

Claire laughed softly. "You don't have to worry, Mint. I didn't use pumpkins. And I'll remember not to, during your stay here." 

Mint would have been quite surprised at how accommodating Claire was willing to be for her if she wasn't already reeling from the fact that she already remembered her name. She shook off the feeling and concluded that she deserved such treatment. _'Hu, at least someone knows how to treat royalty..', _she thought, pompously, and began to wait for her stew that she knew would only make her long more for her chef back at home... 

"Mmm! Seconds!!" Mint squealed, as she held out her empty bowl anxiously. 

"You mean thirds.." Rue corrected, quite unmelodically.

"Rue, your friend may have a broken foot, but it's good to see that her stomach is still working fine," said Claire cheerfully, scraping out the last bits of her stew into Mint's awaiting bowl, which she immediately began to inhale. Mint's left foot had now been bandaged up by Rue while Claire finished cooking. However, Mint had seemed to forget about the pain (which she herself had labeled earlier as "unbearable"), as she was too busy gorging herself in stew heaven. 

"Wow, Rue" Mint began, after cleaning out her bowl so impressively that Claire almost questioned the need to wash it, "you never told me that Claire was such a great cook! Now I know why you wanted her back so much!" 

Rue's head shot up from his palm, worried if Mint's inattentive words would have in some way offended the recently resurrected Claire. 

"Jeez, Mint, the least you could do is--" 

"Oh, Rue.." Claire, however, laughed off Mint's comment, and took it as an innocent joke, despite how awfully personal it was. Though she did notice that Rue didn't share in her ability to overlook it. 

"...Rue, I do believe that my remedial herbs are in the back cupboard. Would you mind getting them for me? They might be what Mint needs to feel better." 

"Uhh...sure," Rue said, and went to the back to retrieve what Claire asked for, forgetting about the annoying princess in the other room. Upon returning, he decided not to stay long. 

"I guess... I'll turn in now.." he said, as he began to slip off his gloves. "Good night, Claire... Mint." And as quickly as he had come back, the reserved boy had gone into his room. 

"'Night...," Mint said back to him, though he was almost already gone. 

Without wasting any time at all, Claire started to mix the herbs Rue brought her using her hands while Mint watched in silence. She then started to daintily unwrap Mint's bandages using the most elegance humanly possible, and during this process Mint could feel sharp twinges of pain, but refused to yelp every single time to make it obvious for Claire, as she did for Rue when he was initially wrapping her leg. She instead cringed and forced each cry back, with much effort. And besides, it just wouldn't be as much fun. To keep her mind off the pain, she decided not to stare so intently at her foot, and looked around the quaint, country home that Rue and Claire shared. ...Mint was sure she had never seen a dinkier place in her life.

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'...What a dump...,' she thought, with narrowed eyes, though she wouldn't dare say it aloud. Mint turned her eyes back to Claire when the aroma of the herbs she was mixing caught her attention. Claire then took the bandages that wrapped Mint's leg and mixed it around with the rest of the herbs. After watching her for a while, Mint came to the conclusion that Claire knew what she was doing...whatever it was. It never even occurred to Mint that she eventually started studying the girl intently -- her expression, her clothes, that weird, ever-present content smile on her face -- this was Claire. ...So this was the person who was so important to Rue, huh? It was a little weird looking at her, for some reason. Mint couldn't really understand why. It was probably because she had just become accustomed to thinking of Claire as an object that belonged to Rue rather than a real, living person. However, Claire was in fact a perfect angel; polite, caring, kind... and with cooking skills to boot. Mint couldn't help but be in awe of her little brunette nurse who seemed to be as intent on tending to her broken foot as she was stirring the pot of vegetables hours ago. Mint also couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her as well. If she were killed... would anyone want her back, too? Did she even have anyone who would go through such lengths for her as Rue went through for Claire? Her mind ran circles around that question for a moment. 

__

'......Maya..?' 

"Mint are you alright..?" asked Claire, quite concerned after hearing the sudden gagging noises Mint was making. 

As soon as she was done, Claire re-wrapped Mint's foot with the same flair and style she used earlier, then proceeded to get up. She spoke with a satisfied expression on her face. 

"So Mint," she started, "what do you think -- better?" 

To Mint's astonishment, the pain had relatively subsided and she was even able to rotate her injured foot a bit. 

"Y..yeah." Mint internally scoffed at herself for not being able to express her emotions more efficiently. 

"Wonderful," Claire replied with a pleasant smile, "I knew this would help. Now hopefully you can sleep a little better. I've noticed you've grown accustomed to the futon a bit. I hope you won't mind using it for the night. This cottage...isn't really built for guests." She smiled apologetically. 

"Aw, I'll manage somehow..," groaned Mint in her usual gruff way, as she looked at the futon distastefully. "..I-I mean...it's not that much of a bother..," she corrected herself, trying to sound more grateful, as she watched Claire blow out the candles turning the room dark as pitch, save the light of the moon that shone through the windows. 

"Good night, Mint," Claire said, bowing her head slightly, in a regal manner. 

"G'night, Claire... oh, and Claire..?" 

Claire stopped and turned back to the now peaceful-looking girl on the futon in the dark room. 

"Thanks," Mint said, hardly sounding like herself. 

"Oh, don't thank me," Claire said, being humble as usual, "thank Rue." And with that, she disappeared into the darkness of her room, ironically fixated closest to the kitchen stove. 

Without further delay, Mint spread herself across the futon, enjoying, or at least trying to enjoy, every inch of it, as she was so used to doing in her king-sized (or princess-sized, if you really want to get into technicalities) bed back at the royal palace in East Heaven. She wasn't able to fall asleep right away, which gave her a few good moments to spend time running a few thoughts through that world domination-filled head of hers. 

__

'Rue..,' she thought as she rolled over to her side, mulling over the last words Claire said to her, _'he still better help me find that new [relic]! What good luck of mine, running into him like this!' _Mint cackled softly as a sly grin crept onto her face, but soon faded. 

__

'Or maybe...maybe I shouldn't...ask him.' The thought of Claire came to Mint's mind. If she was in Rue's place, she probably wouldn't want to leave Claire either... they were just reunited after 3 years and all. And he just seemed so happy now..Mint had never seen Rue like this before. It was almost scary.. 

But then again, it was for a good cause. After she took over the world, he could be with Claire all he wanted._ 'Heck, I'll even help them move outta this pile of toothpicks they call a home. That should be a piece of cake when the entire world beckons at my feet!' _Mint thought, gleefully. 

__

'Beckons.... I like that word..' she thought, as she stored it under the 'B' file of world domination terms. Hey, no one ever said that all of Mint's thoughts were supposed to make sense.

The important thing was Mint had her battle plan. Yeah, that's what she'll tell him. It was an offer he couldn't refuse. And yet, in the abundance of her confidence.... Mint couldn't help but wonder if Rue still wouldn't be willing to help her. 

__

'......And why would he?!' she thought, beginning to get as mad at herself as she was so prone to doing to other people. _'He's only got Claire, and a peaceful life and... and... dammit! I'm tired of thinking!' _

Mint angrily rolled to her other side and tried to force herself to sleep. However, she forgot about how tender her foot actually was, and the twist sent a sharp pang of pain through her. 

"Ow..." she said aloud, the pain annoying her more than hurting her. 

The shot of pain was all Mint needed for her brain to gradually begin shutting down. Subconscious thoughts of glorious world conquest and getting even with her enemies lulled her to sleep...as did one other memory...

~~~~~~~~~ 

Mint stood at the end of the Carona docks impatiently waiting for her little sister to arrive. Despite all her new (and dear...there, she said it!) memories, she still couldn't wait to get the hell out of this shoddy town and back to her kingdom, where she knew she'd be welcomed back with open arms by her loving public..or at least she had better be. Then suddenly, a certain white-haired boy came up to Mint to yank her out of her realm of spitefulness and give her a final goodbye.

"Hey Mint," Rue called out, wearing half of a smile, "You're still here? I thought you would've left by now.." 

Mint jerked her eyes away from his face and spat out a "well, it's obvious that I HAVEN'T!" with the same amount of idle annoyance as a cow that's been recently tipped over. Though as soon as she ended that sentence, she turned back to him, and noticed that his head was turned away as well, wearing a bit of an embarrassed expression. She decided that now was as good a time as ever to...

"...I almost forgot," she added, her voice becoming a little less like her, and with what looked like a smile on her face, "I'm kinda glad I met you... it's...it's been fun."

"... .... ..Dang, what the heck could be taking her so long?!" Mint groaned, turning her head back to the view over the pier to hide the fact that her face was rapidly turning red.

~~~~~~~~~

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Author's Notes: Well, this has been the first fanfic I've written for a while. Though actually, I've been working on this for quite some time. Almost a year now, in fact (not nonstop! just something I blow the dust off of every now and then). 

Why'd I write it? Hrmm, well I think I'll go into more detail on that later, but for now I'll just say that I wanted to make my own R/M fic, in my own way. This fic is a trilogy, by the way. That's right -- it's already finished (well...almost). I promise to upload the second chapter soon. Thanks for reading the first one, though. Tell me what you think! ^^ 

So for now, ja ne. 

-- serendipity do da


	2. Second Chapter

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Rue stretched out all his limbs in total relaxation as he sat on the bench outside the cottage while Claire quietly watered the colorful assortment of potted flowers. The two of them were enjoying the sweet spring air on a perfectly fine morning. 

"Ahhh~!" Rue said, quite satisfied, "Isn't this great, Claire?" 

"Yes it is, Rue." 

"Claire..." Rue started, turning to her with a boyish smile, " I...I know I've said this about a hundred times by now, but... it's really great to have you back." 

"Thank you... Rue."

Rue smiled at her bashfully, and tried to change the subject like he hadn't said that, as boys are so prone to do when they've just said something awkward. "Man, I can't remember a better day," Rue continued as he got up and leaned over the wooden handrail that bordered the front of the cottage, "You know, while you were gone, I never really took the time to notice beautiful days like these... it was like they all just seemed so gloomy to me.. Or maybe... I was just gloomy to them...." 

Claire stared forlornly at her flowers, and didn't even bother to give a reply. 

".... Oh Claire, I'm really sorry. I'm just...I'm just babbling again, aren't I?" Rue said earnestly after the sudden silence from the watering girl. 

"......" was oddly the only response Claire gave again.

"Ar... Claire, are you alright?" 

Claire turned to him with a vacant expression. "I'm fine, Rue. Fine." Her voice was like ice.

"..Claire...?" was all Rue could stammer out as he stared at Claire, baffled to say the least. He started to approach her, just as she turned and began watering the flowers again, and despite how gorgeous the weather had just been a moment ago, the sky suddenly turned dark with rain clouds...no; snow clouds. 

"What the..?" Rue noticed that suddenly, the ground was covered in fluffy, white snow, though Claire still peacefully watered her flowers, totally oblivious to pretty much everything. Rue stared into the sky and saw a number of falling snowflakes... in the middle of spring? Something was not right. Upon turning back to Claire, a cold blade of terror was thrust deep into his chest -- a huge, dark, devilish arm was looming over Claire, seeming ready to drag her along with it into the abyss of hell. As soon as Rue regained the ability to speak... 

"CLAIRE!!" 

Rue hastily covered his mouth in complete mortification that he would yell out loud like that. He frantically looked all around him, propelling beads of cold sweat off his brow in every direction he turned. He was in his room, with the sheet covers of his bed strewn off his body. He let out a lingering sigh of fear and relief and looked out the small window to his right. He could still see the stars; morning would still be hours away. 

Rue ran his hand through his hair as he paced about his room. He couldn't believe that he was still having that dream. He could have sworn that after he saved Claire, they would cease to haunt him. 

"Maybe... it's still a little too soon..," he said to himself, reassuringly, as he exited his room. It was exceptionally dark in there, and Rue couldn't see much besides the soft, blue haze in front of him that emanated from the glowing stone in the middle of his forehead. He decided that it might be better to stay in the main room until he was ready to go back to sleep. 

As Rue stepped into the main room, he raised his arms over his head, and with a long groan, stretched them as high as he could, though his arms abruptly froze in mid-descent as he heard a softer, higher-pitched echo of that groan. 

"Wh-Wha...?? Who's there?!" Rue called out, regaining his composure and trying to sound threatening, though with a shaky voice, he probably wasn't doing a very good job. 

"Mwaa... I can't... eat anymore..." Mint said, answering the five thousand chefs in her dream. But as if she was also answering Rue, she rolled over to her other side, revealing her slumbering face to the boy. A tranquil (yet seemingly drunken) smile was present across her lips.

Rue whapped himself on the forehead. How could he ever forget about Mint? 

"Then again.." he said aloud, answering himself while turning around and folding his arms, "it's been a hectic night... I can't blame myself for not keeping a few things in mind... but I guess I can't stay out here..." Mint punctuated Rue's sentence by suddenly snorting in her sleep, causing Rue to cringe a bit. 

"....As if anyone would want to.." he added. 

Rue turned back to Mint and noticed that the princess was still wearing that same peaceful smile on her face. He shook his head and coyly smiled back, although he knew she wasn't actually smiling at _him_. It was just that he couldn't help but remember the last time he saw her like this..

~~~~~~~~~~~

Rue timidly knocked on the door to Mint's room that, like him, Ms. Cartha offered to give to her free of charge. After a short wait, he knocked again and spoke, hoping that she would be able to hear him through the wooden door. 

"Mint...?

Mint, it's me..."

Without thinking, he slowly turned the knob and peeked in; finding the slumbering Mint collapsed upon her bed. 

"Oh, she's still asleep.." he said aloud to himself as he entered the room, a little downcast. After the battle, Mint had been asleep for what seemed as days..he didn't know when she was going to get up...if she ever did.

With that thought, Rue fearfully turned back to Mint's resting form. No. She wasn't dying. Not Mint. Definitely not Mint. She's just really exhausted, that's all. 

"She'll probably be asleep for a while..." he said, encouraging himself. Upon looking back, he noticed the emotionless expression on the princess's face. No; it was better than emotionless...it looked surprisingly tranquil (surprising for Mint, that is). She wasn't wearing the gruff or grumpy expression he'd seen on her so many times before...or the gleefully greedy expression she wore whenever she talked about the [relic]. It in fact almost even made her look kinda... kinda... normal. If only she could be like this more often...

"She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping..." Rue ignorantly let slip out. 

Though Rue's encounter with the softer side of Mint was sweet, it was also very short-lived, seeing as a few seconds after Rue finished his last sentence, Mint shot out of bed, conveniently back to her old self, yelling, "What was THAT supposed to mean??!"

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Despite its bittersweet-ness, Rue was still smiling after the memory. 

"She does, actually..." he said, agreeing with what he said in his reminiscence, though he would never repeat it, knowing that doing so meant risking Mint jumping up and yelling at him...again. 

"Good night, Mint." Rue couldn't have been more careful with his tone. He finally decided to leave Mint to sleep, and turned back for his room with a yawn.

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Mint sighed heavily as she stared intensely at her breakfast. Her face eventually relaxed and she turned to her bandaged leg, once again supported by two or three pillows. She grabbed her fork and poked at the thick bandages a few times. Then, with a good amount of gathered nerve, she rotated her leg a little, sending a pain through her so strong that her face became just as furrowed as it was before. A stifled "Ow" echoed in her throat. 

"Argh! I hate this!!" She yelled, and she tossed her fork onto her plate with a loud, piercing clatter.

"Is something wrong, Mint?" asked Claire, looking up from her breakfast, which made her look like she was starving herself compared to Mint's. "I thought you said you liked pancakes.." 

Nearly caught off guard by Claire, Mint stumbled for her fork and began pouring a layer of syrup over her mountain of pancakes, pretending that her outburst never occurred. "It's not that..." she answered finally, "it's just...oh, forget it." 

All Claire could do in reply was raise her hand to her lips and giggle softly. Mint narrowed her eyes, just a tad peeved, to say the least. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mint." Claire said, noticing Mint's expression."It's just that you sorta remind me of... oh, nevermind." She looked at the princess, just the slightest bit shamefaced. "You know, Mint...if it makes you feel any better...keep in mind that you're still young; your bones are still strong and healthy, and you're bound to heal soon!"

"I guess.." Mint muttered, just before filling her mouth with pancake.

Looking for another option, Claire placed her index finger on her cheek and looked up, thoughtfully. 

"..Hey..." she began once more, "I'm sure Rue'll get up soon. Why don't you go out with him to get the firewood? The fresh air should do you good." 

"WHAT?!" yelled Rue, who had just exited his room, the news almost causing him to fall through the doorway of the main room in shock. 

"Oh, good morning, Rue. I didn't hear you get up. I hope you slept well," Claire said with a smile that she saved just for him. 

"Good to see you finally decided to join us, sunshine," Mint added, without a fraction of the kindness of Claire's greeting. 

"I... was up late last night," Rue said to Mint, flatly, then turned back to Claire with a worried expression, "Claire, you can't be serious! ..w-with Mint..??" 

Claire blinked at Rue with an unsettled look. "Well, I-- I just thought that it would be nice if--"

"You don't have to say anything, Claire, because there's no way that I'm going anyway! Thanks but NO thanks for the offer." Mint said pompously, folding her arms and cutting Claire off in mid-pleasantness. 

"Well, that's sure a load off my back...literally," Rue said as he turned from Mint, a lot more relieved, though a part of him felt like he had won. 

"Well I..." Claire once again tried to speak up, but failed for a second time. 

"Oh, so I'm some sort of burden now?!" Mint yelled to the boy, getting into another one of her usual girlish huffs.

"I-I didn't say that...! You're...putting words in my mouth!" Rue answered, defensively.

"Oh! Well if that's so, what exactly DID you mean?!" 

"What do you mean by what do I mean? I said exactly what I meant -- I'm going to get the firewood alone." 

"Well I wouldn't want to go with you anyway!!" 

"That's just fine!" 

"Fine!" 

"FINE!" 

"FINE!!!" 

As if watching a heated verbal tennis match, Claire bewilderedly turned her head right and left, towards Rue and Mint, trying to keep up with each hit. When the two players finally turned away from each other at the end, she quietly took hold of her utensils and resumed eating breakfast. 

__

'Wow, company.... sure is great..' she thought, not sure if she meant it.

::::-----==============-----::::

"Sometimes, I just don't understand you, Mint.." Rue confessed as he drudged up the short hill into the forest, pulling the firewood cart (currently inhabited by Mint) by its two foot-long handle behind him. 

"Princesses are allowed to change their minds whenever they want," said Mint impassively, though that was probably the second excuse Rue's heard from her. 

"Besides, I needed to get out of that stupid little house of yours sometime!" And there goes the third. 

"And do you think you can take a bumpier road?!" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"Sorry..," Rue said apologetically, though half of him wanted to hold Mint to that offer. 

"Jeez, how the hell can you two live in that little piece of --.." Mint said, holding back the less flattering words she had in mind and casually tossing her arms behind her head. 

__

'It's a lot easier living in it without you, Mint...' Rue idly thought.

"I mean, I practically had dollhouses bigger than that thing! I'm surprised it's lived through a single winter." 

__

'I'm surprised it's living through you..'

"It's just about the dinkiest place I've ever seen, y'know," declared Mint, stifling her laughter and letting go of all the insults she held on to since she thought of them the previous night while she was with Claire. 

"You know, Mint.." replied Rue, finally bringing up the gumption to speak his mind, "There is a town a short distance west of here. And I'm pretty sure they have a pretty fancy hotel that you can stay in instead. Of course then you would have to pay the lodging bill, but I'm sure something like that wouldn't bother a refined princess like you." 

"......Guh...a.." Mint pursed her lips before any more nonsensical gibberish could come out. Just as she felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of her face, she managed to come up with a rational reply. 

"Are you kidding me?? Claire's cooking is way too good for me to leave behind for some cheap hotel slop! Trying to get rid of me, huh? Ha! You're gonna have to try better than that, Rue." 

Rue sighed and shook his head once again. Just as he'd said before, Mint was far too complicated to ever fully comprehend. As he reached the top of the hill, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, then turned and walked toward the rear of the firewood cart, Mint's eyes following his every move. With a stylishly criminal grin, he placed his hands on the back of the cart and started running. 

Mint turned to him frantically. "Wh-Whaddaya think you're doing...?!" 

With one last heave, Rue let go of the cart and sent it down the other side of the hill. 

"WUAAHHH!!! RUE!!!" 

With a very fulfilled expression on his face, Rue rested his fists on his hips and watched the show. 

Eventually the cart reached the base of the hill, and gradually slowed itself to a stop, all the while Mint clutching the handle for dear life, teeth clenched and seemingly without the ability to blink. A short moment later, Rue came down running behind it. 

"What'd you think? Fun?" he asked cheerfully, between pants. 

As soon as she regained her senses, Mint snatched her two golden rings from behind her back and prepared to launch a bolt of magic, taking immediate aim at Rue. 

"You are SO dead!!" she exclaimed, saying the quote we've all heard a hundred times before. 

"Calm down, Mint," Rue said with a smile, raising his hands in a yielding sort of way as he moved his head over so Mint's scowling face wouldn't be blocked by the twirling rings and shimmering lights radiating from her palm. "It was only in fun, really it was...! Besides, it's a lot easier a-and faster than dragging the cart down the hill with me. It's what I do every time...it's just that today, you were in it." 

With an apologetic smile, Rue lightly chuckled to himself and turned to a nearby tree, preparing to strike it with his arc edge...just as a bolt of white magic threateningly zipped past his head. Rue nervously turned back to Mint, seeing that she was bitterly staring off to her left. 

__

'.... That's the last time I underestimate her...' 

Mint sat in the firewood cart with arms folded and in complete silence, letting her temper simmer to a steady boil. A few feet away, Rue chopped the timber into relatively identically sized pieces, also in reasonably complete silence. He carried the first batch of wood to the cart and noticed that Mint wouldn't even look at him. 

__

'Jeez, how long can she stay mad at me...?' thought Rue, a little dismayed since deep down he somewhat knew the answer. Darn...

"So.. Mint.." Rue bravely started, trying to end the awkward silence, "I've been wondering... what brings you here.. I mean.. I never expected that--" 

"What do you think, genius?! I'm looking for a [relic]!" 

"A...[relic]...?" stuttered Rue in disbelief, not exactly wanting to hear that word again for some time. 

"Or at least I _was_ looking for it," murmured the irritated Mint, folding her arms again. "Klaus found out about it while looking over some ancient manuscripts from the Coral Sea. It hinted at a powerful [relic] somewhere amongst the ruins in the Western Desert. He's heading there as we speak for research, and I wouldn't be surprised if somehow, the word's gotten out about all this to Belle and Duke, too." 

"Wow.." Rue listened to Mint's story dumbfounded, as one familiar name after another was mentioned. 

"Unlike them," continued Mint with a haughty air, "_I _knew that the fastest way to the Western Desert was by taking the shortcut through this forest.." She stopped as she let her voice harden. "And I probably would've gotten there by now if it wasn't for that stupid cliff!! Augh, I HATE this place!" 

"I'm.." Rue began, but stopped as he noticed that he was about to apologize on behalf of the cliff. "Well... on the bright side, as soon as you're healed, you can leave and go back to heading for the Western Desert. There's a chance that you can still get there before everyone else does.." he said, trying to sound optimistic. 

"True.. "Mint replied, with a sinister glint her eye. Ah, now was the time for the viper to strike. "But...YOU'RE gonna help!!" She pointed straight at the boy dramatically. 

"..Wh...what?!" 

"Think!" Mint declared, hopping out of the cart and heading towards Rue menacingly while dragging her injured foot behind her...which kinda dulled down the menacing part. "Don't you remember?! I did all that work helping to get Valen's [relic], and what did I get?! Nothing! Not even a little treasure! At least you got Claire back, but what about ME?? It's injustice! Injustice, I say!!" she roared, the fact that she was unable to stomp frustrating her even more. 

Rue looked nervously off to the side and stuttered out a "Well... I guess.... I can help you..." 

"....What was that..?" Mint stared at him absently, her arms falling limp to her sides. "Will you... really?" 

Rue turned away and got ready to chop down another tree. "Well, sure, I guess... I mean it's been a while since I've seen everyone...It might even be kinda fun." Rue could almost feel that funny, clawing "what now?" feeling at the back of his mind that he'd been ignoring start to encouragingly pat him on the back while shouting "at'a boy!".

"But.. what about Claire..?" Mint asked, not even noticing that she was turning against herself. 

Rue stopped and stared at his boots for a bit. "I.... I'm sure I won't be gone too long. And I don't have to leave right away.." he said in a low tone, as if he was explaining the situation to Claire already. 

Mint couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her plan, her bribes, all the brilliant strategies she came up with the previous night to win Rue over weren't even necessary. It left her almost speechless. However, there was no way that she was going to let her amazement show. 

"Ha! For your sake it's a good thing you said yes. Because if you didn't, you know I would've had to beat you senseless!" she jeered, pointing one of her golden rings in his direction. Ooh, bet he's scared now.

"I understand, Mint," Rue said, getting a little accustomed to Mint's threats and shooting her an accepting smile, which sent Mint into a frantic struggle against an uncanny urge to smile back. She turned around with a glare and began to drag her foot elsewhere. 

"Wh-Where are you going?" Rue asked, turning to her, concerned. 

"I'm going to look around this place. Sitting around isn't my style," she answered impassively, partially turning back to him. 

Rue ran up to Mint's side. "I'll go with y--" 

"Don't." Mint cut the boy off by shoving him to the ground with a swift outstretching of her hand. "The last thing I need is a perfectly dull person like you tagging along with me. Besides, don't you have work to do?" And thus, Mint was gone, limping off into the unknown. 

"Man.." Rue pulled himself back unto his feet, unable to avoid feeling a little abashed at what just happened. "What's with her..?"

Mint sat on a small boulder at the edge of the forest without a sound, her arms pressed against her sides. Her thoughts were initially on the [relic] and lost time, but some way or another, they fell back to Rue. Stupid, stupid Rue. She couldn't help but wonder whether getting his help really should have been that easy... Mint was close to labeling the weird feeling inside of her a faint sense of guilt until a sneeze that promptly came out caused her to change her assumption. However that wasn't it. Deep down, Mint knew that her thoughts strayed to him for a different reason -- a reason that she definitely didn't want to confront. That dream, last night... what the hell was that?! The docks and... Carona, and...and..

Aw, who cares?! There was no reason for Mint to be concerned about all that anymore. She had bigger plans, and had convinced herself that she had changed since the past 3 months. What a stupid memory. Mint's nose wrinkled in annoyance just from the thought of it.. and then unwrinkled, as she realized she'd never regretted saying... what she said to Rue.

She sighed and lowered her head slightly. She couldn't understand just why...but she utterly hated being in this peaceful, serene place. And it wasn't just because of the fact that she may lose her chance at yet another [relic]...

Rue stacked the next set of firewood into a neat pile, and wiped the sweat from his brow onto his forearm as he stood up. 

"Aren't you done yet?" 

"I...was just waiting for you to come back..." Rue replied, turning to the unmistakable voice of Mint. 

"Good then. Let's get outta here," Mint said, walking back to the cart, sounding very much in charge. She would have looked that way as well, if the bandages on the foot she pulled against the ground didn't catch on a jagged stone, tripping her. Mint tried to keep her balance, but to no luck, as she immediately fell to the ground with a painful thud. 

"Aug.." Mint slowly raised her head off the ground. "Damned unlucky foot.." 

"Mint, a-are you alright..?" Rue asked, the anger he previously felt towards her flowing out of him like a torrent. 

"I'm fine, fine! I ju-ahh!" Mint tried to get up, but failed miserably and fell back down when she felt the sharp pain emanating from her sore foot. 

Rue bent down on one knee next to her. Not only did the jagged stone that caused Mint to trip rip her bandages, but her flesh as well, given that there was now a dangerously open bloody gash just above her ankle. 

"...You're bleeding," Rue started, "your wound.. I'll have to take care of it before I tie your bandages back on." He said, looking up at her, as if asking for some sort of permission. "It could get infected or something.." he added, trying to further gain her support. 

Rue reached into one of the many pouches around his waist and pulled out a small vile. He unscrewed the lid and gently poured the pale blue liquid that was inside of it onto Mint's bloody gash. She immediately turned her head away and gritted her teeth in pain with the initial contact with elixir, but her face slowly relaxed, as she felt the pain begin to greatly recede. As quickly as that was done, Rue grabbed the now tattered bandages, and did his best to repair the wrap around her leg. 

"There, that should do it." Rue said at the end of the job, grateful that Mint didn't complain once. "It feels better, right Mint?"

Mint answered his question by showing him that she was able to get up, yet out of her mouth came not a sound. She followed that feat with another, proceeding to limp about four feet away. Her hands were balled into fists and her shoulders arched, as if she was trying to prevent them from being pulled down by her fists' weight.

Rue blinked in her direction, seemingly at a complete loss for words. "...Mint..?" he called to the girl, getting up and following her. He approached her, and even was so bold as to place his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to get her attention. "Is it okay..?" 

Rue's touch shot through Mint like a bolt of lightning. She swung her head around, her ponytails hardly able to keep up with her, pulled her arm back and punched him -- in the face. 

Rue keeled backwards, grabbing his nose in agony. "Ah! Oww!! W-what was that for....??" 

"We're going back. Now." 

Rue slowly looked up at her, a little nervous that she might hit him again...but something in her voice told him that there was no room for questions. The throbbing pain that seemed to spread across his face blurred his vision slightly, but he was able to make out Mint as she reclaimed her seat in the now full firewood cart and pull her knees up to her chest. Reluctantly, Rue took hold of the handle and the two headed back to the cottage; taking the same trail, scaling the same hill, so familiar, though for some reason, the path also seemed so different, as did Mint, who stayed absolutely silent during the trip. And somehow, Rue found that much worse than her insults... 

::::-----==============-----::::

"She didn't even say thank you...!" 

"Oh, Rue..." 

It would take more than the cooking Claire's sympathetic voice to pacify Rue, who was wiping down the table in preparation for dinner. Though wiping was hardly the word. He used the damp, old rag to take out his anger on the hapless piece of furniture, and was getting dangerously close to scrubbing the wooden table raw. The pain from Mint's attack still reasonably present and gnawing at the back of his mind. 

"I just don't get her!" Rue exclaimed, angrily tossing the rag onto the table. "There has to be something wrong with Mint; she's not normal. I mean, why can't she be more considerate, more polite, more....gentle, more--" 

"..Like me?" Claire's voice was sincere, and yet still so pleasant. Rue's face softened significantly as he turned to her. "No, no, Claire. I didn't mean that -- y-you're special.. no one can replace you." 

For the first time in the conversation, Claire turned her back to the stove. She placed her hands in front of her and wasn't smiling, even after the compliments. She simply stared at Rue, an imploring look in her deep, brown eyes. 

"Rue, I... I'll admit Mint's a little...different. In fact, she's more than a little -- she's very different -- from you and me. I mean, she's a princess! Oh wow, how I've wondered what that must be like -- being so important, so exalted... it must all be so very exciting!" 

Rue's lip turned up a little as he watched the smiling Claire turn back to her stove. ..Did she go insane while he was gone...? 

"But then again, there are the bad points.." Claire continued, completely lost in thought, "I mean personally, big houses have always bothered me a bit. There're just so many rooms and long, dark hallways...and not nearly enough people. It just strikes me as kind of lonesome, I guess. And Mint, well she lives in a huge castle. Imagine what that must be like! You know, she's somewhat like you, in a way." 

Rue's jaw almost hit the floor. 

"..Rue, you once told me that to you, the world was empty without me in it," Claire stated, proving to Rue that she was hiding an intellectual hidden agenda in her moment of airheaded-ness, "Well, I'm sure Mint's world is empty in a different way. Believe it or not, it's true. ..Everyone has empty, lonesome feelings like that every now and then; you, me...even Mint. She just usually keeps it all inside, that's all. But they come out sometimes.. and... being such a different person from you and I, she just shows that in a different way. Who knows what else Mint might just show in a different way," Claire turned back to the bowled over boy with a hinting smile, and then turned back to her pot, tasting its contents and deciding to add a dash of pepper. "But I won't lie to you, Rue, Mint is the kind of girl that takes a more than usual amount of getting used to. The funny thing is, she probably thinks the same thing about us."

Rue was at loss for words after Claire's speech, and couldn't help but feel a little guilty for not thinking about Mint's feelings. No, that wasn't it. He completely forgot she had any...for a long...long time.

"But that still doesn't give her the right to..." 

"I know, Rue, I know... and who knows why she got so angry at you. I dunno... I guess Mint's just a very independent person, despite how sheltered she is, and all..You know, I don't think she was angry at you, more like angry at her situation." 

"What situation?" Rue growled, unable to conceive just what part of the pampered treatment he's been giving Mint could've gotten her upset.

Claire shook her head and decided to throw Rue not a single bone more. She was well aware of how complicated girls could be sometimes...being one herself, and all. "Maybe you should figure that out, Rue."

Rue turned around and began wiping the table again...this time brimming with a little less anger. Claire was probably right. Maybe he did overreact just a little. Rue lowered his head and stared at the table, not making a move as he tried to decide what to say to Claire. "Claire, you....I guess..." But he was cut off by Claire's soft laughter. 

"You know Rue, the Goddess of Fate must really be making some kind of sport out of you.." Claire said, between chuckles. 

"Huh..?" 

Think about it, Rue," she exclaimed, shrugging at him, "What are the odds that you and Mint would ever meet again? I mean, what are the odds that the day you went out to catch a deer, which are let alone few and far between, would be the very day Mint took that shortcut through this area? What even are the odds that she knew about that shortcut? And then you two being at the same cliff? I just find it kinda funny.." 

Rue was hit with the sheer multitude of flukes between him and the bratty princess and couldn't quite comprehend it either. Rue lowered his head once more to vainly try to find answers to those questions when suddenly a question of his own came to mind. "...Where is Mint, anyway?" 

"Oh, I... believe she said she was going to the bathroom," Claire replied, rubbing her head thoughtfully with the tip of wooden spoon's handle.

"....bathroom...?"

The blazing orange sun shone with all it had before the time would come for it to venture to the western horizon and set. And with a front row view of the sight was Mint, hobbling along with the help of a walking stick that surprisingly helped her to cover twice as much distance in the same amount of time than she would without it. She looked over her shoulder -- the cottage was already out of sight. 

"Just a short distance west, huh?" She said aloud, looking toward her destination, "Perfect, I should be able to get to that town in no time!" 

Though with the next step came disaster, as her valuable walking stick suddenly turned against her, and fell into a small rut in the ground, causing Mint to lose her balance and once again, fall. 

Mint slowly lifted her head...quite annoyed, and dusted the dirt from the ground off her face. 

"Aughh.... twice in one day..?" Mint mumbled, a little disgusted at herself. What a bad day. Mint had long ago admitted to herself that she was a bit of a klutz, considering how much she would gracelessly trip over her own feet when she was younger (which is actually a thing she does every now and then to this day, but you didn't hear that from me..) but nonetheless she still considered this twofold feat quite embarrassing. She was just thankful that no one was around to see the display. 

"Mint, are you alright...??" 

Mint was so angry she couldn't even growl. 

Rue ran up to Mint and bent over with an outstretched hand, offering to help her up. "Mint, are y-- .... what... are you doing out here..?" 

"What does it look like?!" She ignored his hand and got up by herself, with a good amount of effort, but she was still able to get up on her own, which was all that mattered.

"Are you leaving..?" Rue asked, rather foolishly, seeing as Mint was already taking steps away from him. "But.. why...?" 

Mint came to a stop and thought about that question for a moment. She didn't want to tell Rue the real reason why she was leaving, because..she probably didn't even know it herself. Though regardless of that fact, she was able to come up with a classy retort. 

"Because I just am, okay?!" 

Bravo, Mint. 

Rue took a few steps closer to her. "But... but what about Claire? She's making dinner. She might be worried about you..." he said, giving Claire the role of his own concern.

"...Tell Claire I said good-bye.." Mint said without turning to Rue, her sincerity seeping through her rudeness. She spun around to add to that. "And that's for CLAIRE, not yooaah!" The velocity at which she spun herself around forced her injured foot to seize up from beneath her, and she began to fall for a third time. Though Rue was close enough to catch her by the shoulders this time, and eased her back onto her feet, leaving Mint's ego in tact. Though again, this without a thank you.

"I'm... going to that hotel you told me about...I'll get better there, then I'm gonna head for the Western Desert again.." 

"At least let me take you there," Rue offered, trying to be of any sort of assistance. 

"What, you think I can't get there myself? Jeez.."

Rue lowered his head helplessly. "Are you.. sure about this, Mint?" He looked up slightly, just in time to see Mint start to hobble away from him once more. 

"Of course I'm sure! I don't question my feelings." 

After a few moments of silence between the two (well, it would be silence if it wasn't for the sound of Mint lugging her leg away), Mint looked over her shoulder and noticed that Rue was still there, not looking at her, but instead rubbing his arm, with his face turned away, wearing a bit of an embarrassed expression... that somehow seemed familiar to Mint. Maybe... getting to town might be faster with his help. 

"Alright, I'll let you help me get to town..... but I draw the line there!"

::::-----==============-----::::

Mint stayed quiet during most of the trip. Now that her mind wasn't focused on the task of walking, she was able to pay more attention to the setting sun in front of her that she'd formerly been ignoring. It set into the hills as if looking for a place to hide from the coming darkness, but in turn, its orange glow extended across the hilltops, seemingly going on forever. The everlasting sun...hiding from the jealous darkness. The enigma that the image was wrapped in made the sunset look even more beautiful, in a way. Mint had never seen anything like it in East Heaven, but then again, East Heaven's landscape was completely different from this total wilderness. She wondered if Rue was looking at the spectacle as well. He probably wasn't, but Mint didn't bother to tell him to. Looking at sunsets wasn't very much like her and would probably give Rue the wrong idea. Besides, it's not like he would care anyway; he probably saw this sort of thing every day. And besides...look, there's the town.

"Ah, finally! I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get there!" 

Rue took Mint's excitement for a good sign. Maybe she really did want to stay here in town, even though that wasn't what she said earlier that day. And much to Rue's dismay, he had a feeling of what brought on her change in heart, even if she wouldn't admit it. It was all that stuff Claire said to him; Mint was independent and he was just being too protective of her. ...No, no it wasn't that at all. He wasn't nice to her..or at least not as nice as he should've been. She was still a guest, after all...even if that guest had to be Mint, of all people. Either way, it was his fault. He had done something that made Mint hate him. He felt as if the weight on his back wasn't the spoiled young princess at all, but instead just a load of guilt. What would he tell Claire? What would she think of him? What was Mint thinking of him? He told himself to stop being so damn self-conscious, but he couldn't help it. Did Mint... really hate him..? Why else would she be leaving? She couldn't stand him anymore; he was driving her away. Rue could almost feel himself ignoring that little familiar voice at the back of his mind as it started to yell "why should you care?" 

"Mint, I.... I don't really know what I did earlier to get you so mad at me....but whatever it was, I'm sorry." 

Mint stared blankly forward after the sudden break of Rue's silence. _'No, you idiot, you're not supposed to apologize..!' _She gritted her teeth, knowing that in actuality, she wanted to avoid thinking about what happened earlier that day as much as possible. Despite the fact that the sting of hitting Rue still echoed in her knuckles. 

"You deserved it, you know..." she said, uncaringly.

Rue lowered his head. He was starting to feel as if he really had done something terrible. "I'm really sorry..." 

"And I'm never going to forgive you either.." Mint filled the air around her with empty words as she tried to think of a way to steer Rue off this topic. But Rue would not be moved.

"C'mon Mint, I'm being serious.. this is all my fault isn't it? I know it is...just come out and say it. It'll at least let me feel better knowing--" 

"It's not your fault, stupid!" Mint had had just about enough of Rue. "It's just that.." she stumbled over her words for a while, "..Just that...that.." until she finally fell. "It's just that it's none of your damn business!"

Once again, there was silence between the two. That is, until the weight of both guilt and anxiety became more than Rue could stand. "I just wish... there were something I could do to make it up to you.." 

Rue gasped inwardly. Those words somehow slipped out of his mouth and he had no clue how. Perhaps his brain has devised a sort of mutiny plan between it and his tongue. He eventually stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed that everything seemed to spin around him, making him almost dizzy. 

"...I'll be okay from here.." 

Mint's voice yanked Rue back into reality. He didn't even notice that he had already entered the town. He quickly sat Mint down on the end of a nearby well and took a few steps backwards. Her face wasn't turned to him, as she was sternly looking over to her right, as if she hated everything on that side of the world. 

"I guess this is good-bye, then..." Rue said to her. 

"See ya." 

Not even that seemed rude to him. Rue didn't understand it at all. He hated Mint so much just a short while ago when he was with Claire, but now...did he forgive her or something? Instead of hating her, he started to hate himself for leaving her here in this town that she knew nothing about. 

__

'No, not again, Rue! Mint can take care of herself, forget about her! No...I shouldn't do that.. maybe I'll come back tomorrow and give her some food from Claire. It would only be good manners, after all...though then again, Mint probably wouldn't like me visiting her, maybe I should ask if that would be okay first.... she'd probably say yes to the food, but what about me? Well, I guess that's alright too -- just giving Mint a good-bye present would be enough to make up for everything I put her through...wait... I'm still standing here...'

Rue instantly cut his long thought process short and quickly turned around, heading home.

"Um..Rue..?" 

"Y....yeah..?" 

Mint suddenly found herself under some sort of foreign control. 

Was it hunger...? 

Maybe.

"You said that Claire had already made dinner, right..?"  
Rue furrowed his brow as he tried to make out the princess's point. "Yeah...?" 

"And.... she probably would've made enough for three people, huh?" 

Luckily, Rue was smart enough to know that pointing out the fact that Mint eats far more than one person's share would not have been very bright. Good for him. 

Mint stood up slowly, then turned to Rue with a surprisingly piercing look in her eyes. "Well, what kind of guest would I be if I left it to you two to eat all that food? ...I mean, you two would probably have to stuff yourselves to finish it all! Oh yeah, that's real harsh... what about me?! What do you expect me to do, eat some cheap hotel slop? How greedy can you be, Rue??" 

Rue squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what just happened. 

Mint continued to mess with Rue's mind as she dragged herself behind him, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. Rue's muscles clenched and his spine automatically forced him to stand at attention, assuming that Mint was going to strangle him for some inane reason. Though when he noticed that her grasp had become no firmer, he could immediately feel his face become warmer as he tried to figure out just what Mint had in mind. 

"Well don't just stand there.." Mint growled, "Pick me up! I'm getting hungry." 

And thus, the sun had come closer to its goal of acquiring it's hillside hiding place, and the last bit of it's radiance shone towards the backs of the two fr--..partners as they headed back to the cottage. Rue did, however, turn back and look at the sight for a bit, causing a small smile to spread across his lips. Mint attempted to gaze at it as well, but couldn't as her vision was impaired by the boy's hat...causing Mint to conveniently notice how big and stupid looking it was. She was just about to ask Rue why he would ever wear such an ungodly thing when her own memory answered her question for her.

__

'Oh yeah, he's not human, is he...?'

That's right, that stupid hat was to cover up that gem-thing on his forehead...and that punky hairstyle that so wasn't him. Mint couldn't decide whether the average anyone would be more disturbed by that or the gem. It was weird, however.. Rue not being human and all..she'd almost forgotten about that fact that was so important. But still, he looked so human -- there weren't any dead giveaways on his anatomical structure to make it obvious like on Prima Doll (then again, anyone with a personality like Prima's simply couldn't have been human). Rue really was quite a wonder.. who wouldn't think he was a normal person like everyone else? He just looked so...normal, so..

"Huh..? Oh, is anything wrong, Mint?" 

Mint just realized she'd been staring at Rue the whole time...causing her face to turn as red as her hair (which proved to be a rather effective form of camouflage). 

"Wh-wh..whaddaya mean by that?! Why the heck would there be something wrong??" she stuttered defensively. 

Rue shook his head. "I was just asking..." 

"Well since you insist, yeah, there's something wrong. In fact, I was just wondering if you could possibly walk any slower! Think you can get us back home before hell hosts its own ice-capades?" 

"Um.. sorry..." 

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. Is that all you can say? Less talk and more walk -- c'mon, move it!" Mint commanded, jabbing her heels into Rue's side as a jockey would a steed. 

"Ow! Hey, I'm not your horse, you know..!" 

"Lucky for me you're not. You're too ugly to be one, anyway!" 

"Unghh..." 

__

'...Should'a left her when I had the chance...' 

Yes. You should have.

::::-----==============-----::::


	3. Third Chapter

::::-----=============-----:::: 

"That Rue... what an idiot." 

So this was what true hatred felt like. All of Mint's dreams, her hopes, her very purpose in life for the past two years -- all shattered because of this...this boy. 

Boys are so stupid. 

She narrowed her eyes as she saw him finally come around the corner of the fortress' hallway carrying Claire, seeming to take his sweet time though in actuality, he was running as fast as his worn out legs could take him. 

"Come on, come ON! I don't have all day!!" hollered Mint, stomping to convey her impatience. "Good for nothing.." she mumbled, almost inaudibly, "..stupid...selfish... [relic] hog!!" she made that last part loudest. 

But none of Mint's words got to Rue, who, for one thing, could never have heard Mint over the thunderous rumbling of the walls in Valen's fortress, but was also too focused on Claire to pay attention to anything else. He cared about how gingerly he should hold her, if his jerky running would cause her to open her eyes, but most importantly, all that mattered to him was that Claire was there. With him; in his very own arms, at last. It almost brought tears to Rue's parched eyes...Until suddenly, with an earsplitting crash, everything went dark. 

Mint rubbed her head, moaning in disgust. The sudden noise was so great that it knocked her to the ground. 

"Dang, what the heck was --" The sight tossed Mint into silence. The passageway out of Valen's fortress had collapsed on itself, trapping Rue and Claire on the other side. 

"No way!!" Was all Mint could say as she saw it. She ran up to the heaping barrier, jetting left, then right, then left again, searching for any sign of Rue. But there was nothing. Not a sight, not even a sound of him to let her know that the boy was still alive. 

"Rue... Rue?!" 

Gasping for breath, Mint zipped around and ran for the exit as fast as she could, vowing that if Rue had died in there, she'd never forgive that worthless jackass. Then at last, she could finally see signs of the outside world as the glowing sun lit up her face...as it was being reflected off of Rod's armor. Mint had never been more pleased to see the Spaniard-dressed man in her entire life. 

"Rod! Rod, you gotta help me!"

"It's about time, Mint! What's up with this place? Where's Rue?!" 

"He's still inside!" She yelled, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She almost didn't even feel the need to get into specifics since the most important thing on her mind at the time was catching her breath. "A bunch of boulders...came down and trapped him INSIDE!!" 

"What?!" Rod yelled, as he pulled back in shock.

"Come on, we gotta crash in there and get 'em out!" she yelled aggressively, wondering why Rod hadn't already started the PInTO's engine.

"What?! Are you crazy? My baby's not gonna fit through that puny gate!" Rod retorted, gesturing to the 5x7 ft. opening to the fortress.

"Then we'll use the cannons to blast our way through!" Mint hollered, desperately searching for a plan.

Rod ran up to Mint, trying to figure out what happened to her sense. "Are you blind?! This thing HAS no cannons!" 

"DANG IT! We don't have time!" she said, frustrated at how much time she had just wasted. "Let's... Let's just crash through! I'm sure it'll work -- it has to!" Mint said, trying to convince Rod, though her desperation was beginning to cloud her good judgement. "Just hurry up and DO somethi--ahh..!!" Suddenly, the impatient, crumbling fortress cut off Mint, as a number of boulders fell dangerously close to her and the young man.

Luckily, Rod still had the brains to know when certain life threatening objects came a little too close for comfort. "It's too late!" he yelled to Mint, over the roar of more falling rocks. "We gotta get outta here! Let's GO!" Rod knew that if they didn't make a run for it soon, they'd both die. 

Mint, however, couldn't believe what she was hearing. Leave?! Without them?! How on earth could Rod think so cruelly? She plugged her ears with her fingers to spare her eardrums when another boulder fell a few feet from where she was standing. 

"I...I'm not going! What's wrong with you?! We can't just leave them!!"

Mint's heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird's. They had to go back and do something. She didn't care how dangerous it was. Rue had always ended up saving her in the end of some predicament, and now, when it's finally her turn, she has to leave him to die?! Never! Never, never!! She began to smile and breathe a little more easily as Rod finally turned back to her wearing a more compliant expression. Then suddenly, he lunged at her, and all Mint could see was white flooding into her vision, as she felt a swift, piercing pain in her abdomen. The last thing she heard before she passed out was Rod giving her a faint, yet sincere apology. 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Mint, somewhere in between sleep and wake, slowly slid her fingers across her pillow. Then, viciously dug her fingernails into it as she was jerked from her subconscious mind. She despairingly tried to force herself back to sleep but once she realized that her efforts were for naught, she reluctantly sat up. 

"Stupid....stupid dream.." she whispered, her voice hardly audible, and her face beginning to find refuge in her palms. Dreams could sometimes be the worst guilty pleasures.

"Jeez...," she muttered, her voice muffled. 

The morning sun was just beginning to show its worthless hide.

::::-----=============-----:::: 

Claire wasn't stupid. Not a bit. 

A soft breeze blew past as she stood in animal pen outside the barn. She nearly didn't even acknowledge it, for the young girl was deep in thought. Claire knew everything about Rue and how...oh..oh, Rue...

"Rue.." 

"Yes?" 

"Um..." she looked around hesitantly. "Do you...know where the ladle is..? I can't seem to find it." 

Rue smiled at Claire. "You mean this one?" In a sort of teasing fashion, he waved around the wooden ladle he'd been holding in his hand all along. 

"Oh...yeah, that's the one." Claire smiled... a little embarrassed. Her hand fumbled for the spoon, and as she grabbed it, Rue's hand slightly brushed against her own. 

"Ah--s-sorry.." Rue stuttered. But with a comforting smile from Claire, the awkwardness Rue felt faded away in an instant. It was always her smile -- that wonderful smile of hers that, even if the world was crumbling around him, could make everything seem at ease. It was the same one she gave him when he saw her in front of Dr. Klaus's home, awake for the first time in three years; looking at him for the first time in three years...smiling at him for the first time in three years. He could remember it all so clearly; how much it felt like a dream. How much he knew then that he would never-- 

Rue stopped for a moment and shook his head, noticing what he was just doing. He pulled off his hat and scratched the back of his head apprehensively, as if that would stop him from blushing.

Claire sighed as she dipped the wooden ladle into the bucket of corn for the barnyard hens. She then strew the corn out in front of her with another. Rue couldn't stay "just a kid" forever. Three years had past, but...she honestly didn't feel any different. It wouldn't make any sense for her to age in the afterlife, anyway. When she first woke up in Doctor Klaus's home, she couldn't even understand what happened to all the snow, and the beast that was threatening her and Rue's home. Little did she know, the entire world had gone on without her -- Rue had gone on without her. He'd grown, and matured and...and now he was just about her age, and--

Claire shook her head. Of course she could understand Rue's feelings. She was one of the first girls he'd ever met, after all (if not THE first), and was also probably the first person to ever show him any sort of kindness. She could still remember that cold night 2...no, 5 years ago when she found the body of a young boy lying in the snow. From then on, she had been Rue's companion and closest friend...but now... she could tell that somewhere, deep inside of him... he wanted to be more. But she knew -- she was positive that... she couldn't return those feelings. At least not yet...she just wasn't ready. She was still just overwhelmed by...everything. 

"..Claire..?" Rue's gentle voice cut off Claire's train of thought.

"Ah...?" 

Claire blinked as she noticed that while she was lost in thought, she never stopped digging her wooden ladle into the corn and feeding the hens. She glumly drooped her shoulders as she noticed that the hens were all now standing in a miniature sea of corn, hardly knowing what to do with themselves. 

"Claire, are...you alright..?" 

Claire's body tensed slightly as she answered Rue, and she dared not turn to him. She had to think of a way to seem as if nothing was the matter when...for once, something most definitely was. "I.. I'm fine, Rue..." she started "I was just thinking, that's all. I guess I just kinda...lost myself." 

Rue looked at Claire, and could almost visualize the grim look on her face. 

"....about what..?"

"Huh?" 

"What were you thinking about..?" Rue asked, his voice giving away his concern. 

Claire, however, nearly completely forgot that she even mentioned that she was thinking of something. She simply let an excuse slip from her mouth. 

"Oh..I was just thinking.." she desperately searched "..about what you said last night... how you wanted to leave and all.." 

Rue bit his lower lip. Just great, of all things for her to worry about. The previous night, Rue told Claire of his little compensation agreement he had made with Mint earlier that day. She didn't seem too troubled by it then, but now, Rue could see that she only held her true feelings inside. Girls are so prone to doing things like that.. 

"I promise I won't be gone long...!" Rue vehemently declared, stating the same vow that he gave her the night before.

"It's alright, Rue, it's fine. I understand; I was just a little worried, is all," Claire answered, digging herself into a bigger hole. 

Rue squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. She wasn't fine! And she wasn't a _little_ worried either! Something inside of him burned -- screaming; hollering at him. How could he ever leave Claire? What did he spend the last three years of his life doing? This was absolutely ridiculous. He....he didn't want her to be alone... He wanted to stay with her, be there for her, always. Mint would just have to understand that...that--oh, what did Mint matter, anyway?! 

Rue shrank back a little. Then again... a promise was a promise, after all. And he did promise Mint that he'd be there to help her out. But was it that that bothered Rue, or the fact that he felt as if there were something amiss about... the way he felt about Claire. The way that when he complimented her, something inside him regretted it, or when he blushed around her, he felt a slight twinge of discomfort -- that something about her made it all feel wrong. But what was it? What, what?!

Rue let his left fist form into a tightly rolled ball, as if he were attempting to squeeze out all of his doubts and fears and uncertainties through that hand. No! He couldn't afford to think that way. He had to come clean with his feelings for Claire -- it was the least he could do before _abandoning_ her. If he didn't do it now, he'd truly regret not having done it sooner or later. Now was the time. Now was the time to tell her -- tell her everything. 

"Cla--" Rue blinked and stared vacantly forward as he noticed that Claire was no longer standing in front of him, but instead had comfortably relocated herself to the front of the barn. ...How long...had he been standing there thinking like that..? 

Oh, that didn't matter. Rue positioned himself to follow her, but just as the thought of "Move!" wafted over his mind, he could feel his muscles begin to freeze. His entire body refused to listen to his orders and stayed put as he helplessly watched Claire walk into the barn without him. ...This was probably going to be a little harder than Rue had planned..

"Oh........great."

The roars of Mint's unruly stomach could have probably scared away a small group of rabbits, or at least one cowardly lion. She placed her hand over her abdomen in order to calm the raging beast. 

"Ohhh...so... hungry..." She dragged herself out of bed and aimlessly started searching for Claire before she could even wipe the sleep from her eyes. She knew that Claire always got up at the crack of dawn (though she couldn't possibly fathom how) to feed the animals in the nearby barn. If she could feed a bunch of pigs so early in the morning, surely she wouldn't find it too inconvenient to feed a distinguished princess (that only ate like one). 

Just the thought of breakfast sent Mint's saliva glands into a fit. "Oh man, I'm so hungry, I could eat--" 

Wait. Something wasn't right. Mint put her fantasizing to a quick halt and looked down for a moment. 

"...my foot." 

She could hardly believe what she was seeing; both of her feet, even the one she broke a few days ago, were planted firmly on the ground. Mint looked behind her and noticed that the futon she's been using as a bed was in fact a few feet away. ...Had she walked all that way..? She must have -- seeing as her foot was in very little pain at all.

"But... how?" Mint asked aloud, nearly waiting for an answer until it came to her without any outside assistance -- Magic. 

"Of course!" Mint exclaimed, slapping her forehead. It all made sense. Only magic could make something this impossible possible. Mint nearly felt foolish for not having realized it sooner. Honestly, who uses "remedial herbs" anyway? The herb-based mixture Claire had been using on her leg was some kind of homemade potation all along. That Claire.. Mint's eyes narrowed as she dawned upon a revelation. 

__

'She's smarter than she looks, she is...' 

Mint shielded her eyes from the blazing morning sun as she entered the outside world. She gently pushed open the squeaky door of the tattered, wooden fence that led to the muddy, weed-filled sanctuary of the animals which resided next to the quaint cottage. Then without warning, Mint was bombarded by an array of clucking menaces, shuffling around her feet and disgusting her to no end. 

"Oh....god.." she muttered, but suddenly looked up when she heard a soft chuckling coming from somewhere nearby. 

"They think you're me.." Claire explained with a smile and a laugh, as she exited the barn, carrying a bucket of fresh milk in front of her. 

"Well then in that case, how do you say 'fuck off' in chicken..?" Mint asked, not the least bit amused about the mix-up. 

Claire placed her index finger to her cheek and looked up thoughtfully. "Hrmm... was that with one 'buckaw' or two...?" 

"....Funny." 

"So.." Claire began, in a more serious tone, though still wearing a smile, "does your foot feel any better?" 

"...I've been meaning to ask you about that," Mint answered, bluntly.

"I thought you'd say something like that," Claire said between laughs, beginning to walk past the newly popular princess. "C'mon, we'll discuss this inside. You must be hungry -- would you like breakfast?" 

__

'Claire, I could marry you..' 

::::-----=============-----::::

"Your.... father..?"

"Ya-huh." Claire answered with a smile as she prepared a fitting breakfast for Mint's nearly insatiable appetite. "My father is a peer, and my family is part of Seid's nobility.." 

"Seid? As in... THE kingdom of Seid...??" Mint held her breath for a moment. 

Claire turned back from the stove and smiled coyly. "Oh, now... It's not that big of a kingdom -- I'm surprised you've even heard of it..." 

If Claire was good at anything (which is an understatement all in itself) it was selling herself short. It was common knowledge (amongst royalty, anyway) that the tiny little Seid kingdom was backed up by a big reputation. It was famous for being the origin of the fabled Enlightenment, an explosion of culture and recognition of the arts that began centuries ago and eventually spanned the globe. It was the birthplace of countless famous painters and sculptors, and was now home to some of the greatest museums in the world. For a bumpkin like Claire to actually be part of the nobility of such a nation was nearly mind boggling. 

"Wait, so.. if you're part of nobility, then what the heck are you doing here??" Mint asked. 

"Oh, it's a long story..." Claire sighed, knowing that she'd end up telling it anyway, if she wanted to get anywhere near answering Mint's initial question of why her foot's been instantly healed. She handed Mint the beginnings of her breakfast to hold her off for a while as she spoke, and rested her cheek in one hand while she watched her eat. "Well, my grandmother on my mom's side had never really liked the glamorous package that came with having a nobleman for a son-in-law, and well... this used to be her cottage," she said, wistfully looking around the old home. Her pleasant smile, however, shifted to a more despondent one with the next sentence. 

"Though a number years ago she became quite ill... She never really cared for fancy treatment, even when it came to the most important of matters. I guess....I guess she was far too stubborn to ever leave here and come to Seid to seek the proficient medical treatment she could have been given, so my family hired the best nurses money could buy to take care of her at her home. But..." 

Mint looked up for a moment, hardly being able to wait to hear what occurred next. "So... what happened?" 

"..Well... my grandmother never was that much of a 'people person', to be honest.." Claire continued with a slight laugh. "She ended up being so--..disagreeable that she drove off each nurse we hired." 

Mint's shoulders slumped a little. She couldn't see how any one person could be so possibly be that crabby. 

"Then, I remember on my 15th birthday.. I offered to take care of her myself," Claire continued. 

"A rather bold move, I'll admit. I mean, my parents didn't much care for that idea at first, but they knew how much my grandmother meant to me, and reluctantly, they let me go. So, I left my father's estate on my own, but not before I was equipped with numerous kinds of medicines and healing magic techniques. 

Grandmother still always complained when I was there -- griping when her tea was too hot or when some random part of her hurt. But I never did mind much. I mean, I finally had a chance to take care of her, just as she'd oftentimes taken care of me, on those occasions when she would visit when I was a child. And you know, somehow.." Claire's voice softened. 

"..I _knew_....I knew that underneath it all, she was a lot happier having her granddaughter take care of her than anything else. I'm positive she would never have lasted as long as she did if it were anyone else there by her side..."

Mint's face grew sullen as she realized where this story was heading. "Claire, I -- I'm sorry.." she said, sincerely. 

However, Claire, wouldn't hear of it. "Oh no," she began, her smile so wide and radiant that it almost seemed like telling that story didn't faze her. "It's quite all right, really... I mean to be honest, Rue came along not too long after my grandmother passed, so I never really have felt very lonely. And I must say that a lot of my grandmother rubbed off on me -- seeing as I've grown more comfortable living here than my father's mansion. " 

With that, Claire finally got up and returned to the warm, comforting stove. "I ended up taking care of Rue shortly after I'd found him.. and now I'm taking care of you," she said, turning back to the princess. "I guess it's kind of been my calling." 

Mint sat there, awestruck, until an amassing of guilt raided her mind. 

"But when I--" 

"But," Claire continued in Mint's place, "I guess I can't stay here forever -- that would be like avoiding a part of me that I'll forever know exists. Maybe I'll go back home soon. Perhaps, once Rue leaves...to be with you." 

Mint blinked feverishly, and tried to prevent her face from becoming any warmer. 

__

'Well when you put it that way..' 

::::-----=============-----:::: 

Rue slowly paced around the small, grassy knoll in front of the barn. The grass blades reached to just about an inch above his boots. Rue himself noticed this, seeing as he was staring at the ground with unwavering attention. Besides grass, his thoughts were on Claire. Always Claire. It was funny, but... he was sure he felt something for Claire. What was he saying? He'd always had feelings for Claire -- she's always been the most important person in his life. He was madly devoted to her and there was nothing he could do to change that. If it wasn't for her, who knows where he'd be? 

Rue lightly kicked a patch of grass in font of him. He had always labeled his fondness for Claire as a sort of sibling-like admiration, but that was when he was last with her, 3 years ago! That was before he'd realized how horrible his life was without her in it. Now, things were different. He was just a kid back then -- surely he'd changed. 

...Hadn't he..? Of...of course he had. But it was just so hard to tell Claire that. For the entire day, speaking to Claire seemed to be a foreign task to him; painful and uninviting. It tore him to shreds on the inside. He just couldn't understand why...

It was then that Rue noticed that in the middle of the clearing of grass he'd just kicked was a single lavender flower. He bent over, placing one knee on the ground, and picked it. If he didn't have Claire back, he probably would have never acknowledged a simple form of beauty such as this. There'd be no room for it in the dark, dismal world he created for himself. He then twirled the small blossom between his thumb and forefinger, creating a blur of purple that his mind became sucked into as he thought aloud. 

"I...love Claire... Don't I?"

"Hu. You always seemed like the nature-loving kind." 

Rue's heart could have nearly jumped out of his chest if it wasn't held back by his ribs and several layers of tissue. He swung his head around to the roof of the barn, where Mint sat -- not looking at him, and with an unresponsive look on her face. Rue almost felt too embarrassed to ask how long she'd been sitting there. 

"I...I'm not out here for leisure, you know," he said. 

"Yeah, I always considered picking flowers to be a bit of a chore, too." 

__

~~That Rue... what an idiot.~~

"I--I mean.." Rue's foot accidentally nudged a sign of the real reason why he was outside -- a remnant of the wood that he'd chopped down yesterday. The left over logs that weren't to be used at the fireplace were to be cut into smaller pieces for Claire to use at the stove. However, Rue always used this opportunity to get in some quick practice with his arc edge. He decided to ignore the quick-witted princess and threw three pieces into the air. And with three swift slashes of his blade, he promptly made the three pieces into six. 

"Brava." 

"What I meant to say was.." Rue began, speaking to Mint with a little more gumption, "I'm out here to train." 

"Train?" Mint asked "What's there to train for in a dull place like this??" 

Rue's eyes narrowed as he remembered that cold, fateful night 3 years ago. 

"Something might come up," he answered, flatly. 

Mint stared at the sky, not really sure whether or not there was a hidden meaning behind Rue's glib reply. She looked at her freshly healed foot for a short moment, and before she could even mention it to the boy, Rue broke the awkward silence between the two. 

"So...how's your foot..?" 

"Oh -- better. Heh, that Claire... she sure knows her way around magic. She's pretty interesting...you know?" 

Rue's face twisted...just a little. 

"...yeah." 

Yet another awkward silence. Mint couldn't figure out why she felt so uncomfortable with it. It was as if her mind was purposely avoiding something. 

"So I...guess that means you'll be leaving soon, huh?" Rue finally asked. 

"...ya huh." Something in Mint sank when she answered that. Was it...because she had to leave? It's not as if she was going to miss these two. Or this ramshackled cottage for that matter..

__

~~I...I'm not going! What's wrong with you?! We can't just leave them!!~~

"Mint...?" 

"What?" 

Rue lowered his head. "Have you--" He swallowed his pride and just spat it out. "..have you ever felt a certain way about someone...that you've never felt for anyone else before?" 

Mint shut her eyes tight and shook her head for a moment, in a vain attempt to figure out if she'd just heard Rue right. 

"...What..?" Her voice was just barely loud enough for Rue to hear her over the 9-ft. distance that separated the two. 

"Have you ever been in love?" Rue's question was direct and completely no-nonsense, as if he had no time for formalities and needed an answer as soon as possible...which he did. 

This, however, sent Mint into a panic. For a short, fleeting moment, she honestly couldn't form a single word; as if her throat had swelled up, unable create a single sound. Why? Why on earth would Rue ask this? 

"Are you crazy?? Who do you think you are asking me a question like that?!" 

__

~~..I almost forgot..~~

"F-forget it.." Rue stated, a little ashamed that he did bring up the subject. He'd in fact almost forgotten who he was speaking to for a moment. But Rue's renunciation came too late, as the princess was already resolved to answer his question. 

Mint stared directly at Rue, giving him a cold gaze that nearly cut through his soul, and spoke. 

~~I'm kinda glad I met you... it's...it's been fun.~~

"No. Never." 

::::-----=============-----:::: 

****

Author's Notes: 

Almost finished my ass.. 

Well I guess the fic isn't going to be a trilogy after all... Sorry, halfway through the ending I decided that most of what I had was complete and utter crap, so I extended...and cut... and extended, until it became too long for just one chapter. Hense, the reason why this thing hasn't concluded yet. 

Well, that, and I've been doing a few other things. For example, I just started college, and I'm trying to get my feet planted firmly on the ground. 

But that's not really an adequate excuse ...I should really make writing a bigger part of my life. 

Anywho, I am quite done now, though I'll be reading over and making some final changes to the next (and last) chapter, but it should be up relatively soon. But shame on me for making you nice folks wait so long! *slaps wrist* 

And lastly, I hope you don't find it too presumptuous of me to include my idea of Claire's history. I mean, why else would a perfectly non-crazy young girl like herself live alone in a cottage in the woods? Quite frankly, I'm just not comfortable with the thought of Claire being a common hermit. 

Is that all I have to say? 

Well, for now it is. ja. 

****


End file.
